TINKLE - June 2015

In dit nummer

Hello Friends,
I was perhaps five or six when I asked my dad, ‘What do you do?’ and he replied, ‘I am an
inspector’. I looked at him with awe. My sweet dad, who couldn’t hurt a fly (literally! If
there is a worm or a pest around, he’d rather gather it in a newspaper and send it out), was
an inspector! I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to get to school and boast to all my
classmates about my dad’s super cool job. I was nearly jumping with joy when I asked him,
‘Really? You are a police inspector?’ And that’s when he laughed and said, ‘No-no! I’m a
quality control inspector’. I was so disappointed! I’d built up my dad into this tough action
hero who chased criminals and put them behind bars, but he turned out to have an
‘ordinary’ office job. Or so I thought. It took me some time, a few more years, to
understand that being a ‘dad’ is one of the toughest jobs in the world.
Think about it. Who’s around with arms held up, when you have climbed a too-tall tree or a
too-high wall and are too afraid to get down? Who’s waiting with medicine and bandages in
hand when you take a fall? Who sits up with you on exam nights battling with maths or
language monsters and still makes the play of numbers or words look fun and simple? Dads
are our greatest support and our greatest strength. They are often ‘tough’ with us when
they want to push us to do better. They are also ‘tough’ when there are things we ask for,
which perhaps they cannot afford, but they’d rather make some sacrifice and get them for
us. They are so ‘tough’ that they’d fight monsters for us, even if they are of the ‘exam’
variety :D
With my dad by my side, I’ve never felt fear—not of monsters, imaginary ghosts or real-life
bullies. Because my dad is my hero. Dads are the special kind of heroes who teach us, push
us, prod us into becoming the best of what we can be. I hope you all make your dads feel
special on Father’s Day on 21 June. Start with a hug